The history of the relations between the countries began in the
Middle Ages, when
Skanderbeg became the chief commander of the crusading forces of
Pope Pius II. Later,
Giovanni Francesco Albani became
pope from 1700 to 1721. He was born to an Albanian father descended from the noble
Albani family from the region of
Malësi e Madhe in
Albania. The apostolic nunciature in Albania started as an apostolic delegation to Albania by
Pope Benedict XV on 12 November 1920, and was elevated to the
full rank of a nunciature by
Pope John Paul II on 16 January 1991. The current apostolic nuncio to Albania is
Charles John Brown, who was appointed by
Pope Francis on 9 March 2017. ==See also==